Tag Archives: cruel world

Yasuakira shinnō tachihaki no jin uta’awase 08

Silver grass

Left (Tie)

はなすすきほにいづるをのはしらくものあさゐるとのみあやまたれけり

hanasusuki
ho ni izuru ono wa
shirakumo no
asa iru to nomi
ayamatarekeri
Silver grass
Fronds appear upon the plains
For clouds of white
Spreading through the morning, simply
Have I mistaken them.

Ariwara no Suetaka
15

Right

はなすすきほのくれがたのつゆけきはうきよのなかをそよとしればか

hanasusuki
ho no kuregata no
tsuyukeki wa
ukiyo no naka o
soyo to shireba ka
The silver grass
Fronds at twilight
Are dew-drenched—
That this cruel world
Is so, I wonder if they know?

Fujiwara no Aritoki
16

Daikōtaigōgū daijin kiyosuke-ason ke uta’awase 08

Round Eight

Left (Tie)

うき世をば又なににかはなぐさめん花にさきだついのちともがな

ukiyo oba
mata nani ni ka wa
nagusamen
hana ni sakidatsu
inochi to mogana
In this cruel world
Is there yet anything else
To console me?
Before the blossoms’ departure
I would my life do the same…

Court Lady Taifu
15

Right

桜さく春の山風みねこせば雪ふりつもる谷のほそみち

sakura saku
haru no yamakaze
mine koseba
yuki furitsumoru
tani no hosomichi
When in cherry-blooming
Spring, the mountain breezes
Cross the peaks
Snow falls and piles high
Upon the narrow valley paths.

Moromitsu
16

Both poems are smooth, and on that basis, I would say that the Right is superior, but it has an archaic element, while the Left lacks anything unusual about it, so this is a tie of quality.